KenGen woos investors to its Olkaria Green Park with cheap geothermal Power

Naivasha

Friday September 1, 2023

KNA by Erastus Gichohi

Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Mr. Davis Chirchir has said that the Kenya Generating Company Limited (KenGen) will sell power to industries setting up their investment at the Olkaria Smart Park at 7 cents USD, which is three times lower than what Kenya Power offers to industries.

Chirchir said (KenGen) has kicked off the development of its 4000-acre green park located in the Olkaria area of Naivasha offering cheaper, abundant, and steady geothermal power supply to industries. 

He noted that the development of the smart city industrial park by KenGen is expected to bolster sustainable economic development by tapping 100 percent clean geothermal power at competitively priced power. 

Chirchir said Olkaria which is strategically located along well-developed access roads and Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) currently generates 1,000MW of geothermal power where targeted industries will tap their power from. 

The CS said the government has aligned all the legal instruments to hasten development at the green park by tapping clean geothermal power which will significantly address the effects of climate change by reducing carbon emissions into the environment.

“The government has already completed the development of a masterplan on 1,000 acres out of the 4,000 acres to guide initial development aimed at accelerating the industrial transformation agenda,” said Chirchir.

Chirchir said Kenya currently uses 92 percent of its power from green and renewable sources and the government in collaboration with development partners targets to achieve 100 percent transformed clean energy by 2030.

To meet this target, said Chirchir, the government has also invested in the drilling of more geothermal wells that are set to add more megawatts to the national grid from other geothermal wells including Eburru forest, Menengai in Nakuru, and Baringo. 

The CS lauded investment by Ecocloud and Konza Technopolis Development Authority for being the pioneer investor and for breaking ground of the first 100 percent green-powered data center at the Green energy park valued at USD 600 Million (Sh. 87.3B).

In addition, the CS said the government continues to make breakthroughs in geothermal explorations and investing in other renewable energies including wind, solar and hydropower sources and is expected to retire diesel-powered power plants shortly.

According to KenGen Board Chair Julius Ogamba, the park will provide industrial, commercial, and recreational facilities which will be undertaken in phases spanning 20 years from 2025 to 2045.

The move by KenGen to establish and fasttrack development at the smart industrial and green park is a huge relief to investors who will benefit from steady and lower power bills after recent complaints of power disruptions that caused huge financial losses to industries and businesses.

Ogamba said the groundbreaking is a key milestone to drive the country's green industrial transformation agenda and move the country closer to a carbon-free sustainable future.

KenGen smart industrial green park is a boost to the country's transformative journey of fast-tracking the development of Special Economic Zones around the country aimed at transforming the country into an economic powerhouse in the region.

The government has so far pumped billions of shillings into establishing much-needed infrastructure and offered fiscal incentives to investors to enable the promotion of export-oriented investments in various zones including Naivasha, Mombasa, Kisumu, Machakos, Busia, Sagana, and Eldoret.

Courtesy ; K. N. A